Light up the world
by isdonisgood
Summary: Veronica and Logan take their family to a small town tradition


Fic: Light up the world

Rating: PG

Pairing: Logan/Veronica

Spoiler: None, future fic

Word Count: 2170

For: lj user=metchick01 who won me in the Queensland floods auction at lj user=fandomaid. Sorry it took me so long to do :D

Summary: Veronica and Logan take their family to a small town tradition

Disclaimer: I do not own Veronica Mars or it characters. If I did Logan and Veronica never would have broken up :D

A/N: So I was actually at the lantern parade mentioned in this fic (yes it does exist) and it got me thinking, it would be cool to do fic where Veronica, Logan and their family went and watched this so this fic was written. All the lanterns mention actually exist and I'm putting the links to them below so that you can all have a look at them cause it was incredible :D You should be warned that this hasn't been beta'd as lj user=metchick01 is my usual beta but this is written for her so all mistakes are mine.

And as always, enjoy and please feel free to leave a comment :D

Standing on the side of the street Veronica couldn't help but feel swept away by the anticipation that the crowd was letting off. It was amazing that such a small town could create such a feeling, especially given how small the crowd seemed to be at that moment. On top of that the night was cold when her body was telling her it should be summer, the streets where cracked and broken and the only people her size were the children, at least the ones that she could see. There were people with balloons for different companies, mostly ones she hadn't heard of, they wore glow sticks and half them dressed too much like hippies for her liking, especially considering that while the town was small it had at least forty thousand people residing in it. Then again from what she had heard from around town there was an open drug community not far from here. Lucky for her though Logan had passed the phase of his life where he felt the need to use recreational drugs.

This trip to Australia had been all Logan's idea though she could help but agree with his reasoning. It was exactly what their family had needed. She was too stressed out from work, Logan was burnt out, and the kids weren't going to miss school considering it was their summer holidays at the moment. How she had found this little festival had been by the miracle of the internet. For some strange reason Logan had wanted to visit the surfing town of Byron Bay, which she didn't understand considering they lived in a surfing town, but she had allowed it, especially when she had seen that a there was a lantern parade happening around the time that they would be there. It looked like it would be fun and it would be an experience for the kids, so here they were, waiting for the parade to start. Logan was getting a drink for Allyson across the round while twins Robert and Keith Junior were sitting at her feet, playing on their DSi's quietly.

She loved each of her children equally but the more Keith Junior grew up the more she was reminded of her father, the boy just loved to solve a mystery. She knew one day that he would work at Mars Investigations with her and his grandfather. Until then she was more than content to let him solve the simple mysteries that his friend brought to him and that were in the old movies he loved to watch with her father. Ally on the other hand was a complete daddy's girl. She rarely went anywhere with Veronica always opting to go with Logan when the opportunity presented itself. Veronica was ok with that, when it came down to it if she wanted any of her children to be like their father it would have to be Ally, there would be less chance of her walking in on something that she didn't want to see. Of course it led to Ally spending a lot of time surfing in the water but it made their detour to this corner of the world all the more justified. Robert, however, was like perfect blend of both her and Logan. He loved to surf but was as curious as a cat, had her blond hair and his father's brown eyes, loved to play video games but also liked to take pictures. As far as she was concerned if there was a way to blend herself and her husband to form one human being that person would have the personality and looks of Robert. It amazed her every day that one of their children could be like that. She had expected them to be like one or the other but Robert disproved that expectation and now all she expected from her children was for them to feel loved and like they belonged.

Searching around the crowd she wondered where her husband had gotten too. It wasn't like him to be gone for this long. Smiling when she saw that they were heading back towards them she accepted the kiss that Logan placed on her lips before saying, "I was just wondering where you were. It looks like they're getting ready to start."

Accepting another kiss she waited as he said, "Well the first store we went to didn't have the flavour that she wanted and we had to go to three others before we could find the place." Pausing for a moment he continued, "Do you realise how weird it is that it's winter here? I keep expecting the air conditioner to be on when I walk into the stores."

Laughing she kissed him quickly before saying, "Well think it this way, we will be home next week and it will be summer again."

Shaking his head he pointed to the end of the street, "It looks like its starting."

Smiling she was about to grab her camera when there was a tug at her leg. Looking down she smiled at Ally before asking, "What's wrong sweetie?"

"I can't see. Can I sit on daddy's shoulders?"

"Sure, as long as you're careful," Veronica replied with a smile, glad that the little girl knew to ask before trying to climb up her father's leg like she had down multiple times before. Pulling out her camera she held it ready as she nudged the boys, still sitting at her feet, to let them know that the parade was starting before handing Robert his camera.

Smiling she raised the camera. She loved the first piece that came out, it was like they could see into her silly delusions. Then again, bringing out a beautiful lit, white Pegasus was the way to any girls heart. Snapping away happily she continued to smile as the next piece was coming out right behind it. Looking closely at the Pegasus as it came closer to her line of vision she continued to snap photos, noticing the wiring detail that went into the holding the structure together. It was mounted on wooden poles, sturdy enough so that it wouldn't collapse but light enough so that t could be easily carried by the four people holding it up. Turning to see the next piece from a far she continued to snap away. So far she loved the pieces that they were bringing out. This one was a testament to the beautiful women everywhere. Hearing Logan chuckle at it, obviously understand why it had been constructed they way it, she elbowed him before snapping more photos. The design was amazing. A woman was sitting cross legged, her arms folded and shirtless. It showed the fact that the woman only had one breast, after all it was for the breast cancer foundation, but she was glad it was constructed the way it was. It showed that woman could look beautiful with only one breast.

Continuing to click away she didn't notice that they were almost at the end until Logan tapped her on the shoulder. Turning to face him she raised an eyebrow to him.

"You do realise that the parade is almost over right?" he asked. Nodding in response he continued, "You do realise you've seen the whole thing through the lens of your camera."

Shaking her head at him she turned back to catch the last lantern, a big white dragon that had black scales going across it in a criss-cross pattern. Snapping a few more pictures she turned back to Logan, "And it matters why? So what it I want heaps of memories of this, the lanterns look amazing. This is ten times better than what I thought it would be."

Laughing Logan asked, "Which one was your favourite?" watching as she glanced at the picture display on the camera he placed a hand over it before saying, "Without looking at the pictures."

Veronica shrugged, "I'd probably have to go with the unicorn head. I did snap about a hundred pictures of it so that I can get one made for our house."

Laughing harder Logan pulled her closer, hugging her tightly into her side, kissing her temple before saying, "I don't think our house needs a lantern unicorn head."

"Logan," Veronica scolded with a shake of her head, "Are you saying we don't need a unicorn head? We can use it at Halloween."

"What was I thinking?" Logan replied with a roll of his eyes, "We need one so we can use it for one day a year."

Patting his arm Veronica replied, "It's ok, I know you don't think like that sometimes."

"Veronica," Logan sighed.

Kissing him lightly she said, "I'll wait until October before having it commissioned. Now let's go. The finale has to be just as amazing as the actual parade."

Nodding he grabbed onto Keith's hand as Veronica bounced ahead with Robert on her arm. It was going to be so much fun, she was sure. It was like Christmas had come in June instead of July and the lanterns were her presents. They were all so amazing in her opinion. The craftsmanship that would have had to have gone into it astounded her and she hoped that they didn't make new ones every year, it would be a pain and she was sure that they would look as amazing if they did. The thing she enjoyed the most though was the children who were in it, holding lanterns that they had obviously made. It made her wish that they could move there just so their children could make their own lanterns. That seemed a little selfish though taking her husband and children from everything they knew just so next year they could make a few lanterns. Maybe she could find a place in the states that would let them make their own lanterns. It could be another family adventure for the summer.

Following the crowd into the park she smiled as Logan took her hand before handing over their entrance fee. Finding a good spot on the hill they sat down, children spread out in front of her and Logan sitting behind her, his legs resting at her side with her leaning back onto his chest. Waiting for the show to start she couldn't help but think this was a great moment. She loved every second of the parade and the first two weeks before this one had been amazing too. Travelling down the coast, flying to Melbourne and driving five hours to visit Duncan and teenage Lilly and spending as much time as possible exploring the great country and what it had to offer. She couldn't help but feel very relaxed and she loved spending more quality time with Logan than she had been able to lately, both their jobs and their children having a firm grasp on their time. It was nice to be with her husband, being reminded again and again as to why they had been in love for so long.

Smiling as a woman spoke Veronica barely listened. Seeing the last lantern they had seen, the beautiful white dragon, came down the hillside she smiled and leaned further into Logan's chest, as his arms wrapped securely around her. Looking at her children she was happy when she saw the looks of awe on their faces as Robert clicked away with his camera. Laughing quietly to herself she couldn't believe she hadn't thought to get her own camera out. Turning back to the display she watched as they dragon 'danced' around, people moving around it. She smiled when the fire twirlers did their display and she gasped when they lit the pictures representing each element. She loved the loud cheer that her three children gave when the bon fire was finally lit by a massive display of twirling from three separate fire twirlers. She smiled and ran a hand through Robert's hair when he leant back and showed her the photo he had taken of a group in the crowd wearing different coloured glitter wigs. She rubbed a hand down Logan's leg when the crowd finally started to dissipate and he didn't move. Cocking her head to the side slightly she looked back at him and raised an eyebrow.

Closing her eyes as he kissed her lightly on the cheek he whispered, "Is it everything you wanted it to be?"

"Of course," she whispered, "I'm here with you and our kids and we are getting a lantern unicorn head for our house. What more could I ask for?"

"Food," Logan replied with a laugh before final standing and pulling Veronica to her feet, "Come on kids, time to get you fed."

Smiling as the cheered Veronica cuddled into Logan's side before taking Robert and Keith's hands in her own and heading with her family to the closest food booth. It was a great way to spend their family vacation, together and with amazing looking lanterns sitting up on the hill, watching over them.

The end


End file.
